Joe Kaufman's Slimy, Creepy, Crawly Creatures (edit title)

Shelfari edited the description of Joe Kaufman's Slimy, Creepy, Crawly Creatures Saturday, November 14 2009.

• Grade 4-6 This superficial survey of fish, reptiles and assorted invertebrates is loosely arranged in 27 brief segments, most of which consist of 2 pages. A short column of text, which briefly describes physical and behavioral characteristics of the various species, is positioned between, or to one side of, color drawings. Captions, in italics, expand the text. The information given is accurate as far as it goes, but it is often so inexact as to be misleading (for example, all Komodo dragons are not ten feet long, weighing 300 pounds as the text implies). The cartoon-style color drawings (which seem intended for a younger age level than the text would suggest) are also misleading in that the bright colors used are not true to life. Anthropomorphism is often present: snakes, lizards and other animals popularly perceived of as frightening or dangerous are drawn with menacing expressions; prey next to predators look apprehensive. The information given is so general as to be of little use to students writing reports; the inclusion of few scientific terms and the lack of an index are major shortcomings. More successful browsing titles, such as Russell Freedman's Animal Superstars (Prentice-Hall, 1981) and Seymour Simon and Pamela Carroll's Strange Creatures (Four Winds, 1981; o.p.) are preferable. Karey Wehner , San Francisco Public Library Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Shelfari edited the contributors of Joe Kaufman's Slimy, Creepy, Crawly Creatures Saturday, November 14 2009.

• Added a contributor: Joe Kaufman: (Primary Author)